


How To Tell Your Parents You're Spider-man; A Guide To Being Kidnapped

by a_dale



Category: The Amazing Spider-Man (Movies - Webb), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Crossover, Everybody pretty much lives at Stark Tower, Gen, Minor Violence, Peter gets kidnapped, Peter is spider-man and nobody knows, Tony and Steve are super protective, because why not, not graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-03
Updated: 2014-07-03
Packaged: 2018-02-07 05:57:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 19,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1887498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_dale/pseuds/a_dale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peter Parker had never been properly kidnapped before. Sure he'd been captured for brief amounts of time as Spiderman, but as Peter Parker, son of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers, it had never happened. Until now, that is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Peter Parker had never been properly kidnapped before. Sure he'd been captured for brief amounts of time as Spiderman, but as Peter Parker, son of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers, it had never happened. Until now, that is. Of course, it was completely his fault for trying to be a hero when he wasn't suited up. It had all started because Gwen had been threatened, and really, how was he expected to stand back and let someone threaten his girlfriend? The armed criminals – armed with what Peter soon discovered to be military grade weaponry – stormed the high school with professional ease, and Peter's first thought had been of Gwen. She was supposed to be in Chemistry, a classroom a few doors down from the Biology room he was in, and he instantly made to find her. As the daughter of the police chief she was a prime target and there was no way he could leave her alone. Of course, he was aware that being the son of two of the worlds biggest superheroes made him even more of a target, but it didn't really matter because he also knew he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. Or so he thought. He'd only just managed to sneak into the lab attached to the chemistry lab Gwen was in when he heard one of the criminals voices call out.

“Sir! Gwen Stacy is in here! Captain Stacy's daughter!” he'd felt the rage burn in his blood when he heard Gwen's sound of complaint, and risked a glance through the window to see her yanked to her feet, the rest of the class cowering back. He glanced around, cursing the fact that he didn't have his suit on hand. His backpack was in his locker because he'd been planning on skipping out halfway through biology to pick up some supplies for a new webbing he'd been thinking about, and leaving his backpack in his locker would make it less obvious he was leaving when he excused himself from class. Unfortunately, his locker was on the other side of the school and he didn't have time for that. He slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone. Looking around the room, he dialled the number he knew would call someone more likely to be reasonable than panicked in this situation.

“Peter.” his aunt Natasha's voice was clipped but he recognized the warmness in her greeting, and he could tell she was outside from the background noise. “Why are you calling me during school?” he didn't answer right away, looking for the chemicals in the classroom that he knew would make a bright distraction but wouldn't harm anybody. He just needed enough time to get Gwen away.

“Hey aunt Tasha. Bit of a problem at the high school.” he pressed the phone against the door where sharp orders were being handed out to the student and then back to his ear.

“How many men?” the switch from warm to professional always amazed him, and Peter shrugged before he realized she couldn't see him, pouring the chemicals he wanted in a beaker.

“Dozens, at least. All with military weaponry. They have Gwen, guess they recognized her as a good hostage, but they're clearly looking for someone else.”

“Don't let them see you.” Was his aunt's sharp order, and Peter sighed, shaking the bottle in his grasp. “I've already turned the tracker in my phone on. I'm going to put my phone in my pocket. I've made a makeshift flash bomb, but I've got to get Gwen out.” his aunt gave a huff, but didn't argue, clearly knowing it would be ineffective.

“As soon as you've thrown it, get her out, but don't get within range. You've got your dad's smarts – use them. But stay out of harms way. I'm already on my way. I'll call in backup. And Peter?” he paused, waiting for her to continue before he opened the door. “Try not to get yourself hurt. Your fathers will kill me.” he gave a short laugh before dropping his phone back in his pocket. Taking a deep breath and wishing once again he had his costume, he opened the door.

“Gwen! Down!” he shouted, throwing the beaker at the ceiling, shielding his face when it exploded in a bright flash of light. He leapt forward immediately as smoke filled the room after the bright flash, finding Gwen easily. “Through the other lab.” he ordered on a whisper, shoving her towards it and listening with half an ear as she began ushering the others through to the next room even as he spun around. Without even a thought he leapt towards the closest man who'd grabbed Gwen, twisting the weapon out of his hand and then grabbing the back of his head and bashing it off one of the lab counters. He was moving again in an instant, flinching as the sound of bullets rang out where he'd just been. He leapt high, pushing off the wall to roll over his next target, flipping him over as he came down, knocking him out with the first guys weapon. There were only two other guys in the room, but he knew the hallway was still teeming with more men.

“Come on,” he taunted, unable to help himself, “Is that all you boys have got? And against a teenager. Really, you'd think you'd be better.” he flipped around again, but the smoke was starting to clear and he knew he had to get out of there soon. He managed to duck behind one guy before the other one shot, and was once again shocked by the stupidity of some villains. Did they never even consider that they would be killing their fellow comrades or did they just not care? Losing his barrier, he dove for a counter, ducking behind it as the person began to shoot. Without hesitation, Peter grabbed the empty beakers and lobbed them between bursts of bullets, catching the guy off guard and sending his ducking from the shards of broken glass. Without missing a beat, Peter turned on the gas for one of the burners, allowing it to fill up the room as he leapt on the desk, quickly pushing aside one of the ceiling tiles and clambering in. The bullets followed close behind him and he moved as quickly as he could away from the scene. Then he got outcome he wanted. One of the bullets ricocheted and created a spark, igniting the gas. The classroom exploded and Peter felt the heat, scrambling away from it as fast as he could, dropping into a classroom two rooms over to clear the blast. Unfortunately, he'd been so worried about escaping the explosion that he hadn't payed any attention to the room he'd dropped into. He was faced with six of the men, and for a moment, they all stood frozen, staring at each other. Then one of the masked men moved, and Peter took a closer look at their outfits; kevlar, masks made of something much thicker than cotton ski masks, and combat boots. These men were fully outfitted, but regardless, it was becoming more and more obvious that their goals went beyond raiding a high school.

“We've got Peter Parker!” one of the men shouted into his radio, and Peter's instant reaction was to scoff.

“Not yet you don't.” he darted for the door, only just making it through before a they were racing after him, and he ducked just in time to not be caught by the first round shot at him. Of course, glancing back at the wall, it was hard to miss what he was assuming was a tranquilizer dart sticking out of the wall. Looks like he knew why these guys were suited up. They weren't after Gwen, they were after him, and all (he assumed) to draw out his dads. He was suddenly very glad that he'd called his aunt instead of either of his parents. As a trained assassin and S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, she would be more than capable of infiltrating the building and if she had his uncle Clint as backup, the fight would be over before his folks could even arrive. He also knew that the two of them would be capable of balancing their emotions with what needed to be done, and would therefore allow them to be safer than his panicked parents would be. The thought gave him a moment of relief before he was having to dodge shots again, skidding around a corner and nearly running full force into Gwen.

“What are you doing?” he demanded, furious and terrified all at once, grabbing her and pulling her after him.

“What's going on, Peter?” she asked, giving a shout of surprise when they were shot at again and he pulled her around the next corner. They were faced with a line of what Peter was beginning to think were trained soldiers, and he put himself between himself and Gwen.

“Peter Parker, you're coming with us.” what Peter assumed was the commanding officer ordered, and he grimaced.

“Yeah, I don't think so.” he shook his head, looking around for an escape.

“If you come quietly, we'll leave the other students unharmed.” were the next words out of the man's mouth, and Peter found himself going still.

“Peter, don't!” Gwen hissed, but when the men who'd been chasing them appeared behind them, he didn't seem to have much of a choice. If he started to fight, it was a good chance that Gwen would be injured as well, and he couldn't have that.

“Get out of here, Gwen.” he ordered, and she balked, gripping his hand tighter.

“Peter-”

“Go.” he gave her a sharp look, and though she hesitated again, she nodded, turning and dashing down the hall. Peter was only mildly surprised when they let her go, and counted the men he was facing. There were probably about 20 of them, and while normally he would at least try and take them, without his mask or his webshooters he felt strangely vulnerable.

“So how's this gonna go, boys? You know if anything happens to me you're going to have a band of superheroes on your ass. Is that really the smartest move?” rather than reply, a trigger was pulled, and he flinched as he felt the needle jab into his skin. Cursing, he pulled the dart out of the back of his shoulder. “So much for civil conversation.” he mumbled, before he fell to the floor, boneless.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

 When Steve got the call from Natasha, he was relaxing in Stark tower with a book, not realizing his day was about to be tossed upside down. He answered the phone on the third ring, and the sound of gunshots had him on his feet immediately.

“Steve, we have a situation.” Natasha's voice had a chill going down his spine and not because of the usual chill to her voice, but because of the cold rage underneath it.

“What's going on?”

“We've got a paramilitary group that broke into Midtown.” she didn't need to specify that she meant Peter's school.

“Where's Peter?” he demanded, already running to the elevator and heading down to the lab. He listened to the sound of gunshots and Natasha's breathing, the sound of her fighting filling his ear as he stepped out of the elevator and into his husband's lab.

Tony looked up the instant Steve walked in and the stricken look on his face had him standing immediately and moving closer, wary as his partner pulled the phone from his ear and put it on speaker to reveal the sound of fighting. A moment later, Natasha spoke, and Tony realized just why Steve had run down in such a state.

“They've taken Peter, and from the looks of it, that was there objective all along. Most of them had already cleared out by the time I got here.” she informed them, and Tony's attention caught on her words.

“By the time you got there? How did you know to get there?” he demanded, and had to wait as Natasha shouted out orders for the men who were left behind to be taken in for questioning.

“Peter called me. One of the men had grabbed Gwen and he was going to fight him.” before either men could protest, she pushed on. “We all know he's perfectly capable of taking on a single man. We've trained him to be capable of defending himself, and you know he wasn't about to let his girlfriend get hurt.” the sharp words had Tony glaring, but he bit back his anger. “He called me because he knew I would be able to act immediately without panic, as you two are currently doing.” there was a pause and she huffed out a breath, sharp tone softening. “Suit up, get down here. You're both going to want to take a look at this. In all honestly, I think the purpose of this was to draw the two of you out.”

“Well, then they'll get exactly what they want.” Tony growled out, moving immediately to don his suit. Natasha didn't respond except to hang up, and Steve was quick to follow Tony's example, hurrying to dress in his own armour.

“Tony-” Steve began, but Tony cut him off with a grim smile that said the other was feeling the exact same pressure in his chest, the exact same fear.

“Don't worry,” the mask came down making the voice of his husband that much more sinister. “We'll get him back, and they'll wish they never took him in the first place.” Steve nodded, mounting his motorcycle and starting it up even as Tony shot off in the suit. Steve was quick to follow, but he couldn't shake the feeling of foreboding. Peter had never been threatened before to get to them, and he was worried that this might be more than to just draw them out. The Avengers had made a lot of enemies over the years, and there was no shortage of enemies who would hurt or kill to try and get back at them. The thought sent a wave of anger so overwhelming through him that it nearly took his breath away as he weaved through the streets of Manhattan. He shook his head, clearing the anger. Tony was right, they'd get Peter back, and whoever had taken him would regret it.

 

***

 

Peter woke up spluttering after a bucket of water was dumped over him. He groaned, his head pounding, but he was fairly confident that it would fade quickly as most headaches tended to do. He looked up at the man who'd dumped the water over him but found himself once again faced with the masked men that had raided his school. Taking in his surroundings, he noticed the room was fairly sterile in a creepy mad scientist sort of way that gave him chills. On the wall facing him was the one way glass, but with barely any effort he could hear at least a handful of men watching on the other side. In the room with him were six of the military men, and he glared defiantly at all of them.

“Well, you managed to get me here. Now what do you want? Because I can't imagine that I'm here just for my charming personality.” he quipped, and he didn't even try to resist when the blow caught him across the face, splitting his lip. He licked the blood off his lip, annoyed, but he needed to know why he was there, and better yet, what they were planning on doing with him.

“You sir, hit like a girl.” he mentally apologized to his aunt who he knew could hit a hell of a lot harder than most of the assholes in the room. “I'm surprised they let you into their super secret military group.” he was rewarded with another punch to the face, and boy did it ever hurt. He could actually feel the bruise starting under his skin. “That one was slightly better, I'll admit. But hitting me won't get any of us where we want to be. Why am I here?”

“Why do you think?” The voice that posed the question came from beyond the glass, and Peter turned his attention in that direction. His eyes measured the pane of glass, and he figured it was probably bullet proof, but even that could only withstand so much. His brain started whizzing with the calculations while his mouth responded to the question.

“Well gee, I'm not quite sure. I'm not exactly someone of importance, so why don't you tell me?”

“Son of the great Tony Stark and Steve Rogers, also known as Iron Man and Captain America – and you don't think you're someone important? Well, at least we know your fathers arrogance hasn't rubbed off on you.”

“Well actually I definitely have his arrogance and I actually do hold quite a bit of worth in myself. Just needed to be sure they were the reason you guys were stupid enough to grab me.” he was rewarded with another hit to the mouth and this time he spat out the blood that pooled from where the inside of his cheek was sliced against his teeth. “Man, you guys really need to work on your manners.” Again it earned him another punch in the face, and really his jaw was beginning to ache. Rather than speak this time, he turned back slowly to look at the man who'd been hitting him, and he let his anger into his eyes. There was a reason he wore a mask, and one of them was because he knew he wouldn't be such a hero if people saw the darkness that lurked in his eyes. He'd seen too many innocent people injured not to have that darkness lurking. The man seemed to pause, but then he punched Peter again, and really, he was getting tired of this. His wrists flexed in the cuffs, and he knew he could break them, but he wasn't stupid enough to think he could make it out without any knowledge of where he was and without any certain idea of how many enemies he was facing. The man pulled back to punch him again and Peter braced for it.

“Enough.” Peter looked back at the glass, and his eyes narrowed when it became transparent and he saw a bunch of men in white lab coats lined up behind another man dressed in the military gear, though this one didn't have his mask on, and Peter realized he recognized him, though vaguely.

“Since when did S.H.I.E.L.D. agents take to kidnapping the sons of their super team?” Peter asked, and the man lifted a brow, clearly impressed that Peter had recognized him.

“Well, it goes twofold really. On one hand, I would actually have to give my allegiance to S.H.I.E.L.D. for it to matter, which I don't, and on the other hand, if you want to cripple a superhero, you hit them where it hurts.” Peter felt the hairs on the back on his neck begin to stand on end, his stomach twisting in a knot. He had a feeling he knew where this was going and he didn't like it. “You being the son of our target will hurt them in a way you couldn't even imagine, and this way if they try and screw us over on our demands, we have someone to test our theories on.” his stomach dropped and he couldn't tell if the bad taste in his mouth was from the blood or the growing fear.

“Well, that would be assuming that my parents would allow you to completely disregarded my autonomy for my own body, which will never happen.” he knew his voice was sharper than it needed to be, but he supposed it couldn't be helped.

“What they will or won't allow is irrelevant. Let's just hope they give us what we want without a fight. Otherwise, using you as a lab rat will be next on our to-do list.”

“Right after pissing off the Avengers you mean.” he called them by name and watched some of the lab coats flinch. “Not very clever of you, really. Even without Iron Man and Captain America as my dads, I also have the Black Widow, Hawkeye, Thor, and the Hulk as my uncles and aunt. Do you really think they won't come after you for taking me? And if you experiment on me, do you really think they'll let anything stop them from finding you?” Peter gave a laugh he didn't feel, but it was clearly believable, because the lab coats were frowning and exchanging glances. “You clearly weren't around for the battle of New York because if you were you'd know they don't let anything go without a fight.” he forced himself not to flinch at the memory, because in all honestly he'd been there too as Spider-man, and it had left him still having nightmares. Of course the apparently-not-a-real-S.H.I.E.L.D.-agent didn't even blink.

“The Avengers initiative isn't a threat. Our base isn't somewhere they would be able to find easily, and by the time they could, well.” he let the sentence cut off, a clear threat, but Peter didn't allow it to scare him, instead he just scoffed.

“Well, if that's all you think is stopping them; you wouldn't happen to still have my cellphone, would you?” There was silence, and Peter allowed the grin to split across his features. “I really hope for your sake you ditched it, or destroyed it, because otherwise they're already on their way here.” The man looked about ready to hit him himself and the one who'd done the beating so far made sure to deliver the blow in the man's stead.

“Knock him out. It's time to move.” they reached for him and he decided it was now or never. With a yank he broke the chain of the cuffs and was moving, rushing the soldiers but careful not to use his abilities. He let himself move just that little bit faster, but no faster than his aunt would move, and he was careful only to use moves his family had taught him. Regardless of his situation, he'd undoubtedly be in even more trouble if they discovered he was also the masked vigilante. Of course, without any protection, they got their own blows in. He'd managed to at least knock them all of their feet just as the door opened and he'd made a run for it, but the instant he got past the guy in the door he was caught by a tazer against his side. He made a noise of pain, jerking away when the electricity stopped flowing, but surprise had been one of his only advantages, and with the few seconds delay to recover from the electricity, he lost it. He was tackled and while he managed to fight it enough to almost get free, the blows then rained down on them, and he could help but cry out when he felt one of his ribs crack.

“Enough!” Next thing he knew he was jabbed with another knock out dart, and he was out of it. The last thing he thought before his eyes slipped closed was that he wished his dads would find him.

 


	3. Chapter 3

 After checking out the school and finding out what little information they could from Gwen Stacy, Tony, Steve, Natasha, and Clint found themselves back at Stark tower where they met up with Bruce.

“Any sign of him?” were the first words out of the scientists mouth, but the edginess of his friends quickly answered for him.

“JARVIS, locate Peter's phone.” Natasha ordered the moment she was inside, and the AI answered immediately.

“Right away agent Romanov.”

“Do you really think they wouldn't toss his phone? Or destroy it?” Steve asked, and Natasha shrugged.

“There's no way of knowing. But Peter told me he was turning the tracker on when he called me so it's a good place to start.” Within moments the steady beep of the phones tracking device was slowly going off, and they all stared in disbelief.

“The Brooklyn War Museum.” Steve murmured, and all eyes turned to him, watching the pain come and go in his eyes before the hardened and he headed for the door. “Let's go.”

 

Tony flew over the city, worry gnawing at him. He had the beep of Peter's possible location flashing on screen, and although it was relieving that it was still beeping, it was also strange that the people who had took him hadn't either destroyed it or dropped it somewhere else. The thought wouldn't leave him alone and it must have been obvious cause moments later Steve was speaking in his ear.

“If he's not there we'll keep looking. Peter's a smart kid, he'll be okay.” Steve assured him, but Tony could hear the strain in his husband's voice.

“Come on, let's find out. This whole stress and worry thing isn't really suiting me.” he commented, and could almost hear Steve's strained smile at his attempt at attitude.

“It looks like there's an entrance underground by the public library.” Natasha was saying suddenly, and Tony veered in that direction, coming down where he saw the others gathered.

“Call it, Cap.” Tony said, turning to his husband, and Steve nodded, tone snapping into his soldier mode.

“Tony, I want you to find another way in. There's got to be a backdoor. Find it. If they're in here, we don't want them getting out. Barton, go with him. It's better if we have two on both sides.” the two of them nodded, and without even a comment Tony grabbed hold of Barton's harness, lifting him into the air.

“Are you ready, Steve?” Natasha asked, and he could hear the moment of warmth in her tone. As soon as he nodded, he watched her focus, the warmth disappearing behind a cold shell, and with only one more shared look, they entered the compound.

“What do you see down there?” Tony asked, the instant the two disappeared underground, even as Jarvis scanned the ground for a possible entrance.

“It's empty so far,” Natasha replied, and they both knew it was because Steve would sound disappointed if he spoke.

“There might be another entrance by the water. It would be a good location for a quick getaway.” Barton suggested, and Tony immediately swerved in that direction. It wasn't hard for the two of them to find the entrance then and soon they too were underground, looking around at the empty halls.

“This is definitely a military base of some sort, but S.H.I.E.L.D. has no record of it that I know of.” Barton commented.

“I didn't know of any base beneath the memorial either.” Natasha confirmed, and they all approached the centre of the base with caution and doubt, hoping for a sign of the youngest member of their makeshift family, but growing more and more doubtful that they'd find one.

“A lot of this is S.H.I.E.L.D. equipment though, isn't it?” Steve commented, and none of them missed the tightness of Natasha's voice when she answered.

“It is.”

They met up outside a row of interrogation rooms lined up around a lab of some sort, and the idea that Peter had been here set Steve on edge. He knew what it was like to be experimented on, and he'd remembered how terrifying it was even when he'd been a volunteer. The idea of his son being under any sort of forced experiment had fury rising in his chest.

“Is the signal still coming from here?” Barton asked, and Tony nodded, scanning the room. The first to move was Steve, and they all watched him approach an interrogation room, shoulders set in a tense, angry line.

“In here.” Steve bit out, and he broke the handle off with his shield, shoving the door open. They all caught sight of the blood on the floor, and Tony was immediately there and testing it.

“Is it Peters?” Steve asked, though they all expected it to be. What they didn't expect was Tony's silence. “Tony?” Steve asked, voice strained, and that's when Tony stood.

“Yeah, it's Peters.”

The sound of a phone ringing had them all jumping, and they turned to see Peter's phone sitting on the chair Peter had clearly been bound to. Steve moved to answer it, frowning when he realized it was a Skype call.

“Answer it.” Natasha prodded, and so he did, going tense when he caught sight of his sons bruised face.

“Hey pops,” Peter's voice came through slightly grainy, but they could all hear the strain.

“Peter, are you alright?” they watched as their son looked around before giving his customary grin and shrug. Of course, the look was put off by the fact that his lip was bleeding and swollen, a bruise covered his cheekbone, and the skin around his left eye was turning a dark purple.

“Course I'm alright, pops. Is dad there?” Steve handed the phone to Tony, and with only a few touches, Peter's image projected itself onto the wall.

“Hey kiddo. Nasty bruise you got there.” he noted, but no one could miss the rage seething in his voice that someone had dared to lay a hand on his son. There was a moment of silence before Peter gave a pained yelp, a glare, and then turned back to the camera.

“Alright well, as I'm sure you've figured out, they want something. Nothing new there. These people are really starting to bore me.” there was a motion beyond the scope of the camera and Peter winced in pain, but continued. “Anyways, they want-” he paused, expression a clear replication of Tony's sarcasm before he spoke again. “They want-” another pause and then Peter clearly looked annoyed. “Make up your mind for christ sakes.” once again there was a motion and Peter was wincing, blinking back tears. Nobody missed how both parents flinched at their sons obvious pain. Then he was looking at whatever the people were showing him. They watched Peter's expression go from frowning, to disbelief, to rage and a hint of panic. “Get out of there! Don't call this number back! It's flipped S.H.I.E.L.D. agents – don't-” they all watched as Peter was punched across the face before the camera was turned away and a man in a military mask appeared.

“You've got a surprisingly loyal kid,” the voice drawled, and Steve's jaw clenched.

“You're going to regret ever having touched him.” he warned, and the man laughed.

“Doubtful. Here's what you're going to give me to get your precious son back. I want the Iron Man suit, without the man inside, I want your shield, Captain, the widow's hand weapons, and hawkeye's bow.” The four were frowning, although all were wary of giving up their symbols, none could understand why it had thrown Peter into such a fit.

“Let Peter go, and we'll consider letting you live when we find you.” the threat was startling coming from Tony's mouth, but none of them argued it because none could claim they felt differently.

“Not willing to give up your symbols for your kid? It's a shame. But that's okay, I didn't really want them anyways. No, what I want is blood. I'm sure you can guess which two members of your precious little group I want it from. If I don't get what I want, not only will I keep your boy, but I have some interesting theories to test out. The Parker line can be easily cut off. After all, with his biological parents having been killed off, he's the last one to carry on that genetic line. If you don't give us what we want, we'll turn your kid into our own lab rat and we'll make sure he won't last long enough to ever see you again.”

“Hey! Get your hands off me!” They heard Peter shout from off camera, and then the man facing them gave a chuckle.

“You know, your kid is also, unsurprisingly, unable to keep his mouth shut.” there was another sound of impact, and it had them all tensing.

“Know what else I'm unable to do?” Came Peter's furious voice, “Play by your rules.” the man they were facing went flying, the phone skittering across the ground. Then Peter was once more in view.

“H+ \+ HCO3 ,” Peter said, and then he was ducking and Natasha smirked at the impressive spin kick the boy gave to the man who tried to come up behind him. “4 Fe(OH)3(s), and don't forget about running water.”

“What does that mean?” Steve was asking, turning to Tony, but his husband put up a hand to shush him.

“Anything else?”

“Yeah,” Peter nodded, and then he was dropping the phone. The sound of an electrical buzz met their ears paired with what could only be Peter trying not to cry out in pain.

“You stupid brat.” was the next thing they heard but Tony was already on the move, transferring the call so it came through their ear pieces, and they raced to follow the Iron Man suit.

“Not as stupid as you.” was the tight reply, and this time the sound of impact was followed by a near sob.

“Somebody turn off that damned phone!” the man ordered, but not before they all heard Peter's final words.

“Negative 70 or so.” the words were huffed out painfully, and followed by more sounds of abuse, but then the phone was shut off.

“What the hell did all that mean?” Steve demanded as they arrived above ground, only to have the Iron Man suit shoot into the air.

“Rust, polluted running water, and that he's underground. They couldn’t have taken him far so I'm guessing some sort of water plantation. There's one north of here.” he was shooting off in that direction before any of them could respond, and Steve was climbing onto his motorcycle. He was quick to follow, the two assassins in a car behind him. They were getting closer, and they wouldn't miss him this time.


	4. Chapter 4

 

Peter clenched his jaw to keep himself from making any noise as they forced him back into their control. Rather than handcuffs though, he was strapped to a metal slab tilted towards the window, what was clearly an experimentation table. The man he recognized as the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent pulled off his mask, storming forward furiously.

“You stupid kid. You think you can stop us just by spewing off a few chemical formulas?” Peter grinned, knowing it must be quite the image considering how beat up he looked.

“Yeah, I do actually.” pressure was put on his broken ribs and he slammed his head back against the metal, trying not to cry out. When the pressure was relieved, he took shallow breaths, watching the men carefully. “You won't be able to recreate the super soldier serum from their blood. Even if they did give you the samples, which they probably won't, there isn't any of the serum left. In both cases, their DNA was genetically altered – but there's no way to isolate the changes to recreate, or in certain cases, reverse the effects.” he continued glaring, his temper reaching its limits. “So basically, whatever you were hoping to accomplish is already a failed attempt, and you've just brought hell down on your heads.”

The ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agent rolled his eyes.

“You think their blood was all we wanted?” Peter scowled, clearly unamused.

“Well, considering your penchant for stupid ideas, I'm not really surprised.” he expected a blow and was actually caught completely by surprise when none came.

“Your first thought when we took you was that we wanted to lure your parents out. If blood was all we were after, we would've just given a ransom call right away. No, the higher ups want the so called super heroes taken out. What better way to get them where we want them than to have their kid beat up and threatened?”

“They aren't stupid. They're going to suspect that you're planning a trap.”

“That doesn't mean they won't willingly walk into it for you.”

Peter didn't think he'd ever wanted to kill someone as badly as he did now. Sure there had been the aliens, and it'd been a kill or be killed scenario, but otherwise he'd always left the actual punishment to the authorities. He just subdued. Right now though, facing this guy who was having him beat up just to enrage his family into walking into a trap unprepared, he wanted to kill him.

“Well, even if they do, you'll be hard pressed to actually do much damage.”

“That's why we're keeping you around.”

Peter stiffened, and he wondered briefly if the plan was actually to kill him before he could get out of there. He mulled the thought over – it wasn't the first time he'd been in life threatening danger. He glanced around, taking in the metal bands around his wrists, and the one that spanned across his chest. Of course, he found it odd that his ankles were left unbound, but he supposed it was because they didn't think he was a big enough threat to completely incapacitate, and they clearly weren't planning on doing any experiments just yet. He realized then that he'd really have to be careful about these people getting their hands on his own blood. He knew what it looked like, and he knew it too wasn't completely human. He didn't need that being discovered sooner than later. Hell, he hadn't even told his folks about his secret identity, he certainly wasn't going to in any way give it up to these goons.

“So, tell me about these experiments you're hoping on doing to me. I can't help but be curious as to what is so important that you risked the fury of the Avengers.” the man just gave him a look before looking to the corner where a man in a lab coat was waiting, clearly nervous. He nodded, and the man seemed to go beat red, looking down at the file in his arms.

“Your father was a geneticist known for a theory he was working on with Doctor Curt Connors, a theory on cross-species genetics.”

“Yeah, I heard about that when Dr. Connors turned into a giant lizard and rampaged the city.” the scientist nodded, clearly growing more confident as he stepped more into his element. “We believe that your father was interested in the idea of a better human, just as much as Dr. Erskine was during the second world war when he – um – created your – um – adopted father, Captain Rogers. We think, however, that instead of creating this new race of humans through a separate source, he was taking DNA from species that already existed.”

“Well, that's not only creepy, but hard to believe. Of course, I'm not sure how that involves me. Unless of course you just think it's poetic justice to test my biological fathers theories on me.”

“Despite the rumours about your father's unethical practice of testing serums on his child and it being the reason for his death, in truth, you are no better than any other candidate.” the man stuttered, but he stepped a bit closer, peering up at Peter with curious brown eyes. “But your reflexes are surprisingly fast considering your youth and lack of training, and you are stronger than we would expect based on your size. I assume your family has trained you in self-defence as you've demonstrated quite splendidly,” his praise was cut off by a clearing of the agents' throat, and he flinched before resuming his speech. “It makes your body far more likely to withstand any testing when you have the health and stamina of someone much larger than you appear to be. I'll begin by comparing your blood to that of Captain Rogers, since he was a successful mutation of the human DNA. There may be a way to isolate genomic similarities between the un-mutated and mutated blood. Then once that is done, both will be compared to that of Dr. Banner, because we really don't need a repeat of that... result.”

“Well, those are some interesting intentions, but even if you could manage to get my blood and the cap's, how would you get -”

“That's enough.” the man in the lab coat flinched away from Peter, returning to his corner as the agent approached him, clearly unamused. “He doesn't need to know anything more. In fact, I think you should extract his blood now. We want to make sure we have a sample to move as quickly as possible in case something happens to the source when the others get here.” the words were clearly supposed to be threatening, but Peter just glared. The man in the lab coat went about preparing to draw blood, rolling over a tray with rubbing alcohol, cotton pads, the needles, and what Peter assumed was another tranquilizer dart, just in case. He was just cleaning the inside of his elbow with alcohol when the building shook with an explosion. The military men were instantly in action, and with barely a glance at him, the agent was waving all but one of his men out of the room.

“You – stay here and keep an eye on the doctor. Once he's taken the blood sample get him and the kid out of here. You know the next location.” the soldier nodded, moving to guard the door. The building shook again but the soldier stood firm.

“Continue doctor.” the doctor nodded, glancing nervously up at Peter. Peter glanced briefly at the release button to the metal encasing him before staring intently at the doctor, and watched the doctors eyes flicker in the direction of the soldier.

“I can handle it. You know I can.” the doctor gave a shaky breath, preparing to slip the needle under his skin. When he hesitated, the soldier came forward, obvious not as patient as the agent in charge.

“What's taking so long.” he pointed his weapon threatening at where the doctor stood on Peter's other side, and Peter looked at the doctor, giving a quick nod. Before he was even released, Peter swung his legs up, ignoring the pain flaring in his ribs, knocking the soldier away. The doctor hit the release button and he was free, springing forward to knock the soldier back, grabbing the tranquilizer dart of the table and jabbing it into his neck. The soldier dropped like a stone and Peter glanced at the doctor.

“Got any more of those on hand?”

 

***

 

Steve lead the assault into the water plantation, Barton immediately moving to a position where he could use his sniper-like focus to take down enemies from afar while Tony circled in the air, coming down only when it looked like Steve or Natasha needed a bit of backup while they fought their way through the guards on the first floor of the facility.

“Peter's probably a good 3 or 4 floors down.” Tony noted, as they finally made it to the emergency stairwell. “How do we want to play this?”

“I'll keep an eye on the exit. We know they're here and I don't plan on letting them get out.” Clint noted through their earpieces. A group of soldiers appeared in the stairwell, firing at them, and Tony took them out with a single blast from his palms, watching as Natasha flipped over the banister to land down among them. She grabbed the one that seemed to be the most conscious and slammed him against the wall.

“Where's the boy?” she demanded, and when he didn't answer immediately, she spun him around, twisting his arm behind his back. They all heard the pop when his shoulder was forced out of its socket but she kept twisting.

“Fourth floor down!” he screamed, and Natasha slammed his head against the concrete wall, waving the others after her as she headed down the stairs.

“Just like that, then.” Tony noted, and they followed her down, pausing only briefly at the door to the floor. Steve gave a nod, grabbing the handle and opening the door just for Tony to turn into the doorway, blasters shooting the soldiers back, and the other two ducked in after him.

“What are we looking for?” Natasha asked, guns in hand as she ducked and rolled into the entrance to an adjacent hallway, pulling the triggers without hesitation.

“Any sign of Peter or the man you heard on the phone.” she nodded and was off, disappearing from sight, and Steve looked to Tony. “I'll go straight ahead, you take the other hall. Keep in touch.” Tony just nodded, hand incased in metal grasping Steve's shoulder briefly before he passed, searching for their son.


	5. Chapter 5

 With the doctor close on his heals, Peter lead the way through the halls with the tranquilizer gun held loosely in his hands. His aunt Tasha and uncle Clint had been sure to teach him to shoot, but that didn't mean he liked the feel of it.

“Where's the nearest exit?” Peter whispered, and the doctor could only give a terrified shake of his head.

“I don't know. We were never allowed to leave and we were brought in much the same way you were.” he paused, clearly embarrassed. “Though perhaps in better physical condition.” Peter managed a smirk, glancing around a corner and jerking back when bullets zipped down the hall in his direction. Careful of his injuries, he crouched and turned the corner, pulling the trigger in a quick burst of three, watching the three opponents falling, only to be replaced by three more who fired in their place.

“Do we have anymore of those darts?” he asked, but the doctor shook his head.

“Not unless the soldiers have some on them, but I find it highly improbable. They tend to prefer the fatal sort of weapon.” Peter's expression was grim as he nodded, shifting his grip on the now useless weapon. He waited until the burst of fire paused and then spun back around the corner, tossing the gun and smirking when it hit the lead man in the head, knocking him back just as he reached them, flying into action. He ignored the burn as he forgot his promise not to use his extra strength and speed, taking down the three men in quick succession. This time, he grabbed a fully loaded handgun, and checked to make sure it had a full clip of rounds. He was relieved to see it was only missing a single round and called back to the doctor.

“All clear up here. Let's get out of here.”

“Not so fast.” the sound of a trigger being pulled had Peter jerking to a halt, expecting pain, what he didn't expect was to see the doctor who'd helped him fall limply into the hall behind him, and Peter stood, eyes wide, as the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent stepped into view. “It's a pity he chose to help you. He really was quite brilliant.” Peter registered that the agent was approaching, and stepped back, releasing the safety on the gun as he lifted it to aim. “Come on, kid. This is your third attempted escape. Do you really think we'll let you get away that easily? Put the gun down before we have to hurt you again.” Peter just glanced away and noticed that the next hallway was four feet behind him and to his left.

“Actually this is only my second real attempt, and I like to think I only fail once.” Now that he had the weapon in his hand, he felt his resolve to kill weaken, and so instead he shot at the fluorescent light, watching it explode as he dove backwards, heading for the hallway. The agent shot at him despite the distraction, and he slammed into the far wall of the hallway and luckily out of range with a grunt of pain. He moved away from the wall and didn't miss the smear of blood. He could feel the bullet lodged in his bicep, and he was just glad that it hadn't hit anything vital as he hurried forward. He was really tired of this whole regular guy thing.

“I am never taking the suit off again.” he muttered, pausing at the next corner. He was getting dizzy, which made no sense. He wasn't loosing that much blood – he glanced at his arm and noticed the dark veiny pattern that was beginning to spread from the bullet wound and cursed. Was it poisoned? And with what? He felt himself growing dizzy, and slumped against the wall, shaking his head as if to clear it.

“Don't worry, it's not fatal.” he heard the agent say, and when he glanced over, he saw two of everything.

“What did you do?”

“It's a hallucinogenic. No big deal. You'll just be a bit woozy. Come here.” he was yanked off the wall, a gun pressed to his temple. “No sudden movements, kid. It's time this little field trip came to an end. All we need is the Cap's blood and Dr. Banners, but lucky for us, I managed to get a sample of the good doctor's blood out while I was still at S.H.I.E.L.D.. I'm assuming Stark locked me out of the database as soon as he heard my voice, voice recognition and all that, but luckily I already have what I need from S.H.I.E.L.D.. Now all we need is you since they clearly didn't follow through by trying to break in, and I always make good on my promises.” he pulled Peter along, and Peter managed to stay on his feet, his vision already starting to clear though the pain in his body was becoming more apparent. That's when they came into view of his pops. The Captain was fighting with all the grace he always did, every move precise and effective, and Peter couldn't help but be awed as he always was when he saw his dad fight.

Steve caught sight of them the moment the last soldier dropped, and turned to face who he assumed was the agent from the call holding his bruised and bloody son from behind, a gun pressed to the brown wiry hair curled ever so slightly at his temple. He didn't recognize the man's face, but that didn't mean he wasn't dangerous. He knew the sort of training S.H.I.E.L.D. agents received.

“Hey Papa,” Peter said, using the title from when he was a child instead of the 'pops' he seemed to prefer lately, it only clued Steve in to how vulnerable his son was at this moment.

“Agent,” Steve addressed, eyes never leaving the man holding his son, “Let the boy go and we'll turn you into the authorities.” the agent let out a chuckle, jolting Peter with the action and making the youth give a hiss of pain.

“Turning me into the authorities isn't exactly a win for me, is it? No. The higher ups want your blood, Captain. Until we have it, your boy isn't going anywhere.” Steve met his sons gaze, and saw Peter's gaze flicker towards the ground. He was going to drop, and Steve had to be ready to knock the gun out of the agents' hand. Before Peter could move though, the man let him go, not removing the gun, but pulling a device from his pocket. “This is my insurance.” he informed them. “It's a trigger that does two things. One, it triggers an explosion from certain rounds, one of which is currently embedded in your sons arm. The second thing it does is send a signal – a signal that the heroes are here. That brings down a whole new group of specialists just _dying_ for a chance to take out some of you heroes.” he lowered the gun, now that they knew he didn't need it to hurt Peter, and reached into another one of the multitude of pockets on his uniform, pulling out a kit to draw blood. He tossed it at the Captain with a smug smile. “So what you're going to do is draw your blood, and then toss the vile back over this way. Once you've done that, I'll give young Peter here the detonator for the bomb in his arm. I'll give you thirty seconds.” Without hesitation, Steve unwrapped the package, yanking up his sleeve and sliding the needle under his skin. They all watched as it filled with the crimson liquid and he pulled the needle out, twisting the vile with his blood off and capping it with the lid in the package. He looked at his son who was watching grimly, before tossing the vile. What he didn't expect, was for Peter to catch it. His son moved so quickly he could barely follow the motion with his eyes, watching as the blood was snatched out of the air and he son hit at the arm holding the trigger, knocking it out of the agents hand. The agent cursed and kicked Peter down, the boy skidding across the floor. The captain threw his shield but the agent ducked, ready for it, and as the man lifted the gun, he realized he wouldn't be able to get there in time to stop him. The sound that rang out next was not a gunshot, and both father and son looked up as the agent dropped, gaping hole in his chest, to see the third member of their makeshift family hovering in the air.

“Dad.” Peter breathed, smile gracing his lips.

“Hey kiddo. Miss me?” Peter nodded before he was scrambling for the detonator, fingers shaking as he pulled the back off and yanked a wire out of the system. Then he gave a hysterical little laugh and fell back, relieved. He was no longer about to lose a limb.

“Tasha, Clint, we've got him. We're coming up.”

“Got it. Be careful Cap, got a call from Bruce, apparently there's a whole new group of the soldiers on their way. We need to get out of here, and stat.”

“Copy that.” they heard Natasha say, and with a nod at Tony who moved ahead to make sure they weren't stopped by anyone, Steve helped Peter off the ground, leading the way to the exit.

“So, what took you guys so long?” Peter joked, and though Steve gave him a look that said he wasn't amused, his smile didn't drop, though it did become a bit watery.

“Hey, you're one to talk. This is what you get for calling your aunt instead of one of us.” his dad snapped, and Peter managed to role his eyes as they made it to the stairwell, his pops all but carrying him up as they ran.

“Only because I knew she wouldn't throw a fit if she knew something was wrong.”

“Told you.” Natasha said, appearing behind them as they ran, and Peter smirked. “Glad to see you all in one piece, Peter.”

“Me too. Came a bit close at one point.” he gave her a wan smile over his pops' shoulder. “I also have a whole new respect for your little electric things.” though she gave a tight smile, all three adults were tense, none too happy that the youth had experienced that sort of pain, let alone any pain at all. They made it to the top and were met by Clint swinging out of the rafters, leading to the car, sharp eyes watching for any signs of danger. Peter was slid into the backseat and Natasha waved Steve in after him.

“I'll bring your bike back.” Steve nodded, tossing her the keys, and before she'd even caught them, the car was tearing away from the curb. Steve turned all his attention on his son now, who was leaning against the back of the seat, eyes closed as Clint steered the vehicle away.

“Peter?” Peter opened his eyes at the sound of his pops voice, giving him a wary smile.

“I'm okay pops,” he assured, though he knew he probably looked the opposite. “Let's just get home, yeah? You can berate me for trying to be a hero and getting caught later.” it was said with a smile that meant he would take no offence to the lecture, and Steve just reached out, giving his sons hair a gentle ruffle.

“Alright, we can wait till we get back and Bruce's had a look at you.” Peter nodded and then leaned back in the car, eyes closed once more. He really wasn't a huge fan of the whole regular guy thing, but he was glad his parents were who they were, because when he couldn't save himself, he knew they'd always be there to save him instead.


	6. Chapter 6

 After an extensive check-up that consisted of wrapping his torso to keep what turned out to be not one broken rib but three in place, and digging the bullet out of his arm and stitching up the hole it left, Peter found himself sitting in the common room with ice on his face and his whole family sitting around him. There was a movie playing but he wasn't paying much attention. He was sandwiched between his dad and his pops, with his dad glaring at the screen, arms crossed in front of his chest and his pops with his arm slung across the back of the couch behind him. He was in direct line of sight of his aunt Tasha who sat on the other end of the semi-circle shaped couch, her legs thrown over uncle Clint's lap. Bruce was sitting right in the middle of the couch, a computer on his lap as he checked through Peter's vitals, clearly just making sure everything was okay. He'd already received the lecture on why not to be the hero by his pops, though it was somewhat gentler than he'd expected it to be, and his dad had mumbled something about giving him something to defend himself with if anything like this ever happened again. He leaned back, comfortable with his family surrounding him, but that didn't get rid of the little suspicion that was forming in the back of his mind. That day had been a whirlwind of pain and surprises, but even still, it hadn't seemed to really lead anywhere. Well, except lend him to the comfort that his family would always find him if he was ever in trouble, but that didn't get rid of the worries that were beginning to fester in the back of his mind. He realized he was frowning when he felt his aunts gaze on him, and then that her attention had drawn that of everyone else.

“Something on your mind, Peter?” his aunt asked, and he shrugged, wincing at the motion, and he didn't miss how both his parents stiffened at his show of pain.

“Yeah, we're missing something about today.” he finally said, and even Bruce's attention was now zeroed in on him. “Two bases, one of which you'd think S.H.I.E.L.D. would be all over considering it's location, and yet you didn't know they existed.” he said, speaking directly to his aunt and uncle. They'd discussed it briefly, that it was thanks to Peter that they'd been able to find him so quickly, and it had bothered them as well. “Then there's the fact that the leader guy was from S.H.I.E.L.D., and he seemed to be working for someone much more powerful. In fact, he didn't seem to hold any power over the overall mission, except for you know, hostage control.” he carefully ignored everyone's reaction to that. “So for one, how did nobody know that he and a bunch of other agents were rogue? Especially considering what he told me.”

“He gave you information?” his aunt asked, surprised, and he nodded.

“I think he was trying to taunt me with it. He should've known better.” Peter said with a shrug of his uninjured side. “Anyways, he said that they only needed some of pops blood to finish their research.” he shifted uncomfortably then, knowing he was going to have to bring up what the rogue agent had said about his biological father. “He said he'd already collected uncle Bruce's blood from S.H.I.E.L.D.,” he gave his uncle an apologetic look but his uncle shrugged, knowing it couldn't be helped. “And well, I kinda bled all over the place so.” he changed the subject quickly when his dads' jaw tensed, his hands in fists. “So anyways, they said they were using my biological father's cross-species research and they were going to use my blood as the base DNA to build on then compare it to pops and cross reference with uncle Bruce's so that they could work on recreating the serum that made pops, all Captain America.” he waved his hands uselessly. “Point is, didn't it seem kinda easy?” his dad was on his feet now and Peter froze mid-motion. Watching his dad carefully. “Dad I didn't mean-” he tried to say, but Tony shook his head.

“It's fine.” he said sharply, and Peter shrank back, gaining a huff from his dad. “That wasn't easy, Peter. Look at you, you're a mess.” he snapped, and Peter felt himself frowning.

“It could've been worse.” his dad's eyes narrowed and he rolled his own eyes. “You know I'm right. They could've shot up the school and injured a whole bunch of innocents. I'd like to think I gave at least double what I received. They really don't expect teenagers to fight back. Plus, I'm fine. I'll heal. It's a lot more important to figure out who these guys were working for and what they actually hope to accomplish, because if that guy really did work for S.H.I.E.L.D. then whoever he works for knows that nothing in Uncle Bruce's DNA or pops can give them anything they need which kind of means that was most likely a convenient lie to cover up what they really wanted.” he let out a breath, cutting off his rambling sentence, but his dad was scowling at him.

“No, _we_ will be figuring out who they were working for and what they really want. _You_ will be under house arrest until we catch the bastards because we do not need a repeat of today. They now know just what you're capable of and what we're willing to do to get you back.”

“Dad-” Peter tried to cut in, but Tony slashed a hand through the air cutting him off.

“This isn't an argument. You'll be here and you won't be leaving. Clearly the school isn't safe and the only place we know for sure you'll be safe is here. So this is where you'll be staying.” Peter was on his feet now too, glaring back at his dad.

“That's completely unfair! Why am I the one being punished when I'm the victim here?”

“That's exactly the point!” Tony shouted back, and Peter blinked in surprise. Tony dragged a hand over his face before reaching for his son, grasping his shoulders carefully to avoid irritating any of his injuries. “That's exactly my point. You were a victim today, and it's not going to happen again. I won't let it.” then he let go, and turned, heading for his lab.

“I've got something I want to work on before we start tracking these bastards down. You should give Coulson a call. See if he knows anything.” he disappeared and left Peter staring after him.

“Pops, come on, you can't think this is fair.” he pleaded, turning to face his other father, but the blonde was frowning.

“I don't think it's necessarily a bad idea, you can't honestly say you want something like today to happen again.”

“Of course not, but Pops-”

“I'll speak with your dad, house arrest seems a bit... harsh. But for now, just try and get better, okay?” Steve moved to follow his dad into the workshop, and his uncles and aunt avoided his gaze. With a sigh of annoyance, Peter stormed off to his room.

“I give him an hour before he breaks out.” Bruce murmured softly, drawing the gaze of the other two occupants, and Clint laughed.

“Nah, I think he'll give it at least a day. He has to know Tony and Steve will probably be checking in on him hourly.” Bruce shrugged and Clint looked to Natasha.

“Tasha?”

She stood fluidly, pulling out her phone.

“I give it twenty minutes.” then she was dialling a number, phone to her ear. “Agent Coulson, I have something I need to discuss with you.” she was walking towards the elevator and disappeared soon after, leaving the two men alone. Clint turned back to the movie, but Bruce was frowning down at the screen he held. The readings he was getting were extremely improbable – Peter's genes weren't fully human, they'd been modified somehow, the question was, by what?

 

***

 

As soon as he reached his room, he pulled his phone out of his pocket, grateful that his dad had returned it to him as soon as they were back at Stark tower. He called Gwen immediately, and was warmed by the relief in the blonde's voice when she answered the phone.

“Peter! I'm so glad you're alright. It was all over the news that you'd been rescued from a kidnapping, but they didn't say anything about how you were.” she paused, then almost embarrassed, “How are you?”

“Oh you know, same old same old.” he told her, and it wasn't a lie. He'd been shot before, and he'd also broken bones before. This was just the first time his parents had actually known about his serious injuries. “Did you by chance...?” he trailed off and she gave an affirmative.

“I went by your locker before anyone else could. I have your backpack here.” he let out a breath of relief. Gwen was the only one who knew about his superhero side job (besides her father, which was a whole other issue), and he was glad she'd reached the evidence of his dubious evening life before his parents could've.

“Thank god. I'm going to head over and pick it up.” he said, and before she could argue, “See you soon.” he hung up and glanced around the room. Heading first for the door, he locked it and pushed his dresser in front of it, just in case. Then he moved to the window, sliding it open. It was pitch black out and he moved to the floor next, hitting the loose floorboard and pulling his spare (and not nearly as awesome) set of webshooters out. Carefully so that he wouldn't be seen, Peter snuck out onto the outside surface of the tower, and within seconds he was off.

He arrived at Gwen's shortly after, going in through her window, and she was waiting for him, worried but glad to see him. She hugged him and he was careful not to wince at the touch but she noticed anyways.

“What happened to you?” she asked, feeling the seam of the bandages under his shirt, and without even asking she was pulling at the hem, taking in all the bandaging. She frowned at him but he just kissed her, giving her an easy smile.

“Don't worry. I'm already starting to heal! I have super fast healing properties, remember?” he reminded her, and though she clearly wasn't convinced, she let it go, moving to get his backpack.

“I'm surprised your parents let you out of their sight.” she said, sitting next to him on the bed as he opened the bag and pulled his stuff out. Peter gave an awkward laugh.

“They didn't exactly _let_ me.”

“Peter,” Gwen reprimanded, but he just put up his hands in surrender.

“Hey! Just wait a sec. Dad put me under house arrest. He isn't even planning on letting me go to school or anything. He doesn't want me leaving Stark Tower. How exactly am I supposed to agree with that? And Pops even seemed to think it was a good idea. As if.”

“You know, you could try telling them of your, extracurricular activities.” Gwen ventured, and Peter rolled his eyes.

“Can you imagine their reactions? They'd probably get me one of those ankle tracker things that alerts security every time I tried to leave the premises.” Gwen giggled at the idea and Peter found himself smiling even as he pulled on the costume.

“That's a bit ridiculous.” Gwen admonished, looking back when he was dressed in all but the mask.

“Come on, you've met them, you know it's not.” then all humour left his eyes, his grip tightening on his mask. “Unless of course they decided I was just somehow _wrong_. After all, Pops was changed by a whole load of doctors, and the only other mutation they know is uncle Bruce's. What if they think my changes are just as bad as the hulk? Not that I think it's that bad, but you know what I mean.” Realizing what her boyfriend was really afraid of, Gwen moved forward, hand gently rubbing his back.

“Hey, you know they wouldn't react like that. They're your family. They love you. No matter what kind of changes your body goes through, you're still their family. You know that.” Peter didn't respond other than by leaning into her. He didn't want to think about that right now. Instead, he turned his thoughts back to his kidnappers.

“The people from today, they're planning something bad. This wasn't just about me, this was about my family. They want to hurt all of us. I can't let that happen without at least trying to stop it. As Spider-man I can at least try.”

“Hey,” she soothed, moving forward to put a hand on his chest. “You don't have to convince me. You just have to be careful, okay?” he nodded, impish grin back in place.

“I'm always careful.” he kissed her quickly before pulling on the mask, shouldering his backpack. “I'll call you later.” she nodded, watching until he was out of sight before her smile fell. She knew Peter wanted to do the right thing, but these people seemed more like enemies of the Avengers than just Spider-man by himself and she hoped he really did try and keep himself safe.

 


	7. Chapter 7

 Steve made his way down to the workshop and found Tony sitting at his desk, screens displayed in front of him in a semi-circle.

“I'm not going to change my mind.” Tony said the second Steve stepped into the room, and Steve sighed.

“You know you can't just keep him locked up inside. He is right, it isn't fair.”

“I don't care about fair.” Tony snapped stubbornly, turning to face Steve, arms crossed in front of his chest. “He almost got killed today. Fair is irrelevant.”

“That's not how he sees it.”

“So?” Steve gave an exasperated laugh, pulling his husband to his feet so he could wrap his arms around him, holding him close. “This won't make me change my mind.” Tony grumbled, though he relaxed in the hold, and Steve smiled into the dark brown hair.

“He's going to want to see Gwen, and he likes taking pictures for the newspaper too. If you don't let him out, he'll lose the job.”

“He doesn't need a job, plus he can't lose it. Newspapers always buy the best shots, and Peters' are always the best.”

“That isn't the point and you know it.”

“You can't seriously be taking his side.” Tony complained, but he didn't move away from the embrace.

“If I'm on anyones side, it's yours, but I think you're being a bit extreme in this case.”

“Why is it extreme to want to keep him safe?” Tony demanded, leaning back so he could look up at his partners face, but the look he was getting explained it all and he pouted. In response, he found himself being kissed, and when Steve pulled away with a smile to rest his forehead against Tony's, Tony heaved a sigh.

“Fine, house arrest is a bit extreme. But we're keeping him in until he isn't wincing every time he moves.”

“That, I can agree with.” Steve allowed, and kissed him again before releasing him. “So what are you working on?”

 

***

 

Peter swung above the city, arriving at the second place he'd been kept captive. It seemed quiet now as he snuck in, careful to stay out of sight. He took the air vent down the floors, arriving on the fourth floor. He crawled out onto the ceiling and crept around, searching for any sign of the true intentions behind these people, but there seemed to be done. When he saw the body of the double crossing agent who'd shot him, he dropped down, searching the pockets for the sample of blood he'd claimed to have. He found nothing but a cellphone, and since he couldn't help his curiosity, he tried to get into it. It was passworded, of course, and Peter sighed, powering it down. He could ask JARVIS to crack into it later, and if not, he could always just hack into it from another computer. He powered it down, making sure there were no tracking devices outside the GPS that was unusable when the device was off, and when he was satisfied he couldn't be followed, made his way towards the exit. As he slipped back onto the main floor, a cackle met his ears and he found himself searching for a sign of the voice.

“The itsy bitsy spider crawled out of the creaky floor, down came the goblin and blasted him out the door.” there was a maniacal laugher and the zooming sound as a shape detached itself from the ceiling, and Peter realized it was literally a man dressed as a goblin all in green, rushing towards him on some sort of hover-board. Even as they zoomed towards him, they were throwing something, and with his senses screaming at him, he dodged just in time to watch it explode where he'd been only moments before.

“Not that I don't appreciate the warm welcome,” he told the newcomer as he swung up into the air, landing on a rafter, “But I do generally like to know who someone is _before_ they start throwing grenades at me. But hey, that could just be me.”

“I am the Green Goblin, and you've made quite a mess of my plan.” he informed him, his voice higher but definitely male, and did everything he say have to be followed by a maniacal laugh?

“Your plan?” Peter asked, and all of a sudden he was realizing that maybe this wasn't just a clown in a costume. “You mean you had a teenager kidnapped today by a legion of armed soldiers?” Another grenade type missile was thrown and again he swung out of the way, but not before shooting a web at the craft and trying to yank it off-balance. He managed for moment, but with a twist, the goblin used one of the sharp edges of the board to cut the webbing.

“Ooooh,” he cackled, “Is the spider worried about the children? Shouldn't you be more worried about being squashed?”

They played the game of the goblin throwing bombs and Peter dodging until the goblin seemed to get bored.

“So much running. Afraid of being crushed?” there was another cackle and Peter really was getting tired of it. When the next missile came at him, he created a slingshot between supports, throwing it back. The goblin let out a screech and Peter dashed for the exit, swinging out just in time.

“You stupid spider! I'll get you back for this!” the goblin screeched after him, but Peter just laughed.

“Yeah, good luck with that, ugly.” he escaped as quickly as he could, finally making it back to the rooftop where he'd left his backpack. When he made it back there he pulled his clothes on overtop of his suit, tossing the mask in the bag along with the phone he'd collected. Then he headed home, careful to climb back in his window when no one would notice. When he arrived he pulled the dresser away from the door, quickly changing out of the suit and hiding it in the floorboard. Then he flopped onto his bed, examining the phone. Pulling out his laptop that wasn't associated with his dad's AI, he booted it up, finding a cord that would fit the phone and plugging it into his computer. He immediately disabled the GPS and started a decryption program, letting the computer do the work in cracking the phone. He leaned back in the chair, wondering what his parents were up to and if his pops had managed to convince his dad to let up on the whole house arrest thing. Deciding he could probably venture out since he was also starving, he left the computer to do its work, leaving his room in favour of the kitchen. When he arrived in the kitchen it was empty, but in the fridge was a plate with his name on it. Grateful, he pulled it out, heating it up in the microwave as he wondered where his folks were. When his food was done, he wandered through the suite, looking for a sign of anyone else, but he was met with silence until he made it to the top of the stairs to his dads' workshop.

“I've never seen anything like it, Tony. His DNA is altered but I have no idea how the alteration was introduced into his system.” he heard his uncle Bruce's voice float up the stairs, and he froze in place.

“Do you know what the secondary source could be?” He heard his dad ask, and heard his uncle sigh.

“I'm working on it, but I'm not quite sure. It seems whatever it was, is also genetically mutated, so it will be difficult to pinpoint it. I'm working on it though.” there was a pause. “You need to talk to him about this, Tony.”

“I will.” he heard his dad assure, “But he's been through a lot, Bruce. He doesn't need this on his plate today. I'll talk to him when we have something a little more concrete. I don't want to scare him if I don't have to.” Peter was surprised by his dads' words, and he felt warmed by them. His dad didn't want to keep secrets from him because he didn't think he deserved to know, he just wanted him to be safe, and there was something to be said about that. He took his plate back to the living room, clicking on the news. There was a quick report about how the son of the billionaire Anthony Stark and Captain Steve Rogers was recovering safely at home but that his abductors still had not been caught. Then the news flashed to a new story; a sighting of Spider-man.

“Reports say that Spider-man was spotted tonight, and fighting against a new threat; someone the public is now addressing as The Green Goblin. A possible terrorist, citizens should immediately call the authorities if they spot this figure,” an image of the goblin tossing a bomb at Spider-man appeared, and Peter wondered who'd managed to snap the picture, he didn't remember seeing anyone. “He is said to be armed and dangerous. Witnesses also claim to have seen Spider-man fleeing from the scene. Is something finally too much for our local superhero?” Peter scowled at the screen, flipping the channel in irritation.

“Hey Peter, how are you feeling?” he jumped at the sound of his name and turned to see his pops standing behind him, slight frown on his face.

“Sorry, bit jumpy I guess.” he gave a sheepish grin, and the response seemed to satisfy him because his pops just ruffled his hair, moving around the couch to drop down next to him, noticing his plate of food.

“Your dad tried to get you to come out for dinner, but you didn't seem to hear him.” there was reprimand in his voice, and Peter managed another sheepish grin.

“Sorry pops, I fell asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow. I was pretty exhausted after, you know.” the expression softened and his pops gave him a one armed hug.

“Don't worry about it. He just wanted to apologize for earlier. I'm sure he will next time he sees you.”

“Next time who sees who?” His dad's voice asked from the stairs, and both of them looked over at him.

“Next time you see Peter.” Steve replied, and Tony's gaze fell on his son.

“Missed you at dinner.” he said, an obvious test, and Peter lifted the plate so his dad could see it.

“I was dead tired, sorry dad. Didn't hear you calling. I was out like a light.” he smirked and his dad rolled his eyes but clearly was relieved that Peter hadn't just been ignoring him. Sensing his cue, Steve got up, taking his sons now empty plate and leaving father and son in front of the TV.

“Look Peter, I know putting you under house arrest was a bit harsh but-”

“Dad it's okay, I get it. You were worried, hey I was a bit worried there for a bit too.” Peter ducked his head, not looking at his dad while he admitted weakness. It was a bit of a sore spot, but he didn't want to force his dad to apologize, not when he'd only done it cause he cared. “I get it. I just hope you know it's better if it doesn't last because we both know I'm more than capable of sneaking out under JARVIS's radar.” he grinned over at his dad with that and Tony just rolled his eyes, pulling his son into a hug.

“I just want you to stay in until you don't obviously hurt every time you move. Fair deal?” he asked, holding onto his son. He didn't want to admit what a relief it was to be able to hold his son after the panic that had set in when Natasha had told them he'd been taken.

“Yeah, deal. As long as you guys stick around for it too. I think if I'm stuck inside, we should make it some quality family time, yeah?” he suggested, and Tony didn't miss the hopefulness in his kids voice.

“Sure kid.” Peter flinched without meaning to, and Tony froze, pulling back to look at him. Peter's eyes were wide with apology.

“Dad, I'm sorry –” he managed, clearly horrified, and neither looked over when Steve walked in the room, frown on his face when he noticed the two staring at each other in open shock. “Its just – that agent –” his dad's whole demeanour relaxed at the words when he realized it wasn't him that had made his son flinch, and he reached out, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Don't sweat it, Peter. I get it.” he looked over to see Steve, and Steve couldn't miss the rage that burned behind his husband's brown eyes. They were going to have to talk about what had put it there. “Peter wants some family time. What should we do first?”

“I vote movie!” Peter exclaimed right away, dropping to sprawl across the couch, grin spread across his face. “And that pops makes the popcorn cause he always makes it perfectly.” it was a clear manipulation but Steve allowed it, heading for the kitchen.

“You got it kiddo. What are we watching?” he asked, calling from the kitchen, and Peter looked at his dad, exchanging a grin.

“Fast and the Furious.”

 

When Peter got back to his room a couple hours later, he was in a good mood. Not only had he been able to spend some time with his parents, but his dad had started a popcorn fight and his pops had ended up with pieces caught in his hair which he definitely had not found as amusing as Peter and his dad had. But the look on his pops' face afterwards, when he'd seen them both laughing, it was looks like that that he missed when they didn't get to spend this time together. With a glance at his desk, Peter remembered the phone and dropped down in front of his computer, caught by complete surprise when he saw what was flashing across his screen. Whatever he'd really been kidnapped for all started with Oscorp. He scanned through what had been on the phone, but none of it seemed to be all that important. Nothing about creating a super serum was mentioned, there were no email accounts attached to the phone and the only two numbers were out of service (Peter made sure to test them). The only other information was a Skype, but the only person that it had called was Peter, and all that proved was who the phone had come from. Irritated by the lack of information, he unplugged the phone and tossed it into the floorboard along with the rest of the stuff he wasn't supposed to have, and climbed into bed. In all reality, he _was_ exhausted, and he fell asleep in seconds.

 


	8. Chapter 8

Peter jerked awake at the sound of a phone ringing, and it wasn't his. Caught off guard, he stared at the ceiling for a moment before he realized where the sound was coming from. He stumbled out of bed, fishing the phone out of his hiding spot, and grabbing a small device off his desk which he hooked over the mouthpiece, answered the call.

“Agent Carlton, what's your status.” Peter only had a moment to decide whether or not to answer, but then his curiosity got the better of him.

“Agent Carlton is dead. Iron Man killed him, blast through the chest.”

“Whose this?”

“Oh, you don't know? Figured the goblin would've told you, this is your friendly neighbourhood Spider-man.” he replied, voice chipper, but he knew it would come out a different tone thanks to the voice scrambler he'd remembered to attach to the phone.

“How did you gain access to this line?”

“Oh you know, our buddy Carlton didn't really give much thought to the fact that attacking the kid of two of the worlds biggest superheroes might get him killed and since me, being the friendly sort I am, decided to collect some info for them while they managed things on the home front for once. I was only being considerate. Came across this phone in the process. What do you think the Avengers will think when they realize Oscorp was behind their sons kidnapping?”

The phone line clicked off, and Peter could only assume that meant they felt threatened by the idea so he grabbed a cloth and wiped the phone down, removing the voice scrambler. Careful not to use his own handwriting, he wrote a sticky note and taped it to the front of the phone. Then, leaning out his window, he tossed the phone, using webbing to catch it and stick it to the window outside of the kitchen, right beside the coffee maker so that he was sure one of his parents would see it. Satisfied, Peter crawled back to bed, mulling over the fact that the voice on the other end of the line hadn't known the agent was dead.

 

Tony grumbled the whole way to the coffee maker. Steve was off on his morning run and Tony stumbled into the kitchen, pouring the heavenly concoction into a mug before something caught his eye. A phone was attached to the outside of the window by webbing, and Tony knew of only one person who could've done it. Moving to the window, he carefully opened it and pulled the phone inside, reading the note attached.

“Hope this helps,” he read out loud, and frowned at the phone. Tossing the note aside, he turned the phone on, flipping through the contents. He noticed that the lock had already been cracked and assumed it was the work of Spider-man. There wasn't much on the phone, save for that it was from Oscorp and clearly issued to someone under their employ; or so Tony thought until he found the Skype. The only contact that existed was Peter, and the call had been made the day before, making it clear just who this phone belonged to. Even as he stared at the phone, Peter wandered into the kitchen, grabbing the coffee his dad had poured for himself and taking a sip.

“Morning dad, what's that?”

“Gift from Spidey.” his dad muttered, and Peter just hummed, not responding. “It's a phone,” he lifted it so his son could see. “It belonged to the agent who lead the ones that took you. It was issued by Oscorp – has the basic info and capabilities of a phone issued to an employee.”

“So you think Oscorp is behind the raid at my school? Me being kidnapped?” Peter asked, because that really was something he still didn't understand, and Tony shrugged, though his shoulders were tense.

“Can't be sure yet, but I'm going to have JARVIS run some tests.” he muttered again, looking at the coffee cup in his sons hand. At the sight he scowled and Peter was quick to grab a new mug and fill it for his dad, pressing it into his hand.

“Thanks.” Tony grumbled, eyes back on the phone as he headed down to his workshop.

“I'm going to invite Gwen over today!” he called after his dad, and got only a mumbled okay before he disappeared. Peter grinned and was quick to call his girlfriend. He had a lot to talk to her about.

 

When Steve came home from his run, JARVIS informed him that they had a guest, one Gwen Stacy, and that she and his son had retreated to Peter's room.

“What about Tony?” Steve asked, and JARVIS replied immediately.

“Master Stark is engaged in his workshop. It would seem Spider-man collected evidence on young Master Peter's abduction and he's running tests on that evidence now.” Surprised by the information, Steve was quick to thank the AI before he rushed down the stairs, finding Tony working on a piece of his Iron Man suit. He didn't look up until Steve was right behind him, and only then because he was reaching for a tool and caught sight of Steve out of the corner of his eye, jumping in surprise.

“Jesus. You couldn't have said something?" he complained, waving a panel up for him to see before he turned back to his work. “How was your run?”

“Good. JARVIS says Spider-man left you evidence?” Tony jerked up immediately as if he'd only just remembered and spun towards another desk, Steve following slowly. He watched as Tony brought up new screens with just a couple flicks of his wrists, and couldn't help but take a moment to marvel in the technology before he turned his attention back to the problem at hand.

“Right, yes, evidence. Looks like Spidey did us a bit of a favour, checked out the place while we were busy with Peter. Found this phone, looks like it belonged to an Agent Carlton – that's the agent we spoke to – and it was issued to him from Oscorp.”

“Aren't they a science complex?”

“Yeah, and actually, if we stick to the spider theme, Spider-man's first major action was against a Doctor Curt Connors,” the doctor's image along with his reptile form appeared on a screen with a wave. “Thanks to a theory based on cross-species genetics he was trying to create to grow back his arm, he ended up turning into a lizard. Spider-man appeared about the same time and managed to take him out. Captain Stacy, Gwen's father, ended up in the hospital, nearly dead but luckily managed a recovery, though just.”

“What would Oscorp want with my blood though? It isn't a cross-species thing.” Steve asked, and Tony waved a hand as if it should be obvious.

“Because of the stuff Dr. Connors was spewing when he was all lizard. He believed that the formula created a better, stronger race. He actually tried to use that formula to upgrade everything with human DNA in the whole of New York. Luckily our friend Spidey got a formula to one of the interns who managed to create an antidote just in time for our friend to replace the lizard-creating-juice, with stuff that would restore affected humans back to their original state.”

“So you think the lizard part was a misstep in the grander plan,” Steve concluded, and Tony nodded.

“I don't think we should ignore the possibility.” Steve was silent for a moment, and when he spoke again it was hesitant.

“Wasn't Richard Parker a scientist for Oscorp before he died?” Tony gave a grim nod and Steve reached forward, hand on his husbands shoulder for support. What were they going to tell Peter?

 

“He threw _bombs_ at you?” Gwen demanded, and Peter winced at her tone of voice. Sometimes she was as overprotective as his parents.

“It's not like he hit me. He had pretty bad aim. But I wanted to know if you've heard anything about him? Through your dad? It looks like the guys who kidnapped me were working for Oscorp, and the goblin seemed to think I'd ruined his plan. From how he sounded, I'd say he was more of a raging lunatic than a mastermind, but I don't want to rule it out as impossible until I know more.”

“So you're facing lunatics now?” although he could tell she was proud, there was a hint of acid in her tone.

“It's not like I haven't dealt with crazies before. I mean, did you _see_ those aliens? And to think, they were lead by someone whose technically my uncle.” Gwen laughed, rolling her eyes, and Peter grinned.

“I still think it's incredible that the ones we considered to be from mythology are real live people.”

“Asgardians.” Peter provided, and watched Gwen's expression light up.

“How interesting is that? You really have to ask about the whole travelling thing next time Thor visits. The pure energy it must take to create that sort of bridge between two physical planes-” Peter burst out laughing, and before he could help himself he'd pulled her in, kissing her soundly. The knock on his bedroom door had them pulling away and grinning at each other like fools, and Peter disentangled himself to go answer the door. He found both his parents standing there.

“Dad, pops,” he opened the door wider so they'd see Gwen.

“Hi Gwen, how are you?” his pops greeted politely, and she beamed back.

“I'm great, thank you. And you Mr. Rogers?”

“Steve, please.” he corrected her as he always did, and she flushed, like she always did.

“When did she get here?” Tony asked next, “When did you get here?”

“About an hour ago.” she provided easily, and Tony accepted it with a nod, turning back to his son.

“We need to talk, about the present from this morning, among other things.”

Peter frowned, not that he wasn't glad to know these things and not have to figure them all out for himself, but his dad had been pretty clear when he'd said he didn't want Peter involved in the whole thing.

“Sure. I'll be right back.” he told Gwen, and she nodded, watching as Peter followed his parents out. As soon as they were gone, she called her dad.

“Hey dad, remember our mutual friend? Yeah, well he was wondering if the police knew anything about the Green Goblin because it looks like he might be another Oscorp product.”

 

When Peter followed his parents into what could only be described as a meeting room, he wasn't quite sure what to expect. What he knew he didn't expect at all was to have his aunt and two uncle's present, as well as agent Coulson. The biggest surprise of all, however, was Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. _._

“Hello Mr. Parker, we're here to talk to you about your parents.” Peter glanced back at his parents and Steve put a comforting hand on his back. “Your biological parents.” Peter just nodded, wondering why everyone had gathered for such a conversation. The only reason he could think of was that it had to do with the experiments his father may or may not have done.

“Yeah, I'm finding it a bit weird that they've come up more in the last two days than they have in the last two years.” he managed, but the director did not look amused.

“First, we would like to assure you that your biological father did not change your DNA in any way when you were younger. When your parents first adopted you, we had you screened for anything out of the ordinary and you turned out to be perfectly healthy.” Peter didn't miss the furtive glance his uncle Bruce shot at his dad, but he was glad nobody else seemed to have caught it. He wouldn't deny that he was relieved by the news though.

“I'm really glad to hear it, but I'm not sure why that warrants a meeting like this or why you even thought that was a possibility. That's not why they grabbed me.” the look that was levelled at his parents said that the director clearly was not impressed by how much like his dad he was reacting but his dad just gave a soft laugh.

“It's important because despite the fact that they didn't do any research on you, there is proof that their death wasn't an accident.”

Peter shook his head, unable to believe it. He could remember, or at least thought he could remember, the soft, loving smile of his mother, and the idea of that warmth being taken away was a horrible thought. No matter how much he loved the family he now had, it didn't mean he didn't wish his biological parents were alive. The fact that there was proof that their death wasn't an accident had his world spinning.

“Whoa there,” he heard his pops' voice and realized he'd actually stumbled back, and was grateful that his pops had caught him before he'd fallen.

“Are you serious? Was it Oscorp? Did they have my parents killed?” the words burst forth before he could help himself, and the director put up a hand for patience. Peter was about to snap out he didn't have any patience when his dad stepped forward, standing slightly ahead of him.

“All due respect, Nick, but it seems a little unfair to spring this on him when you aren't willing to share the details.” he could tell his dad was angry and took a moment to steady himself. His parents had been murdered. The doctor hadn't been lying. He ran a hand through his hair, looking up when the director responded.

“All due respect, Mr. Stark, your son is the descendent of a scientist much closer to the cross-species formula than your son was when he gave it to Dr. Connors and allowed him to become the raging green lizard that rampaged through New York.” Peter flinched back, and he felt his pops' grip tighten on his shoulder, a clear sign of his irritation at the accusation. He looked around and noticed even his aunt was frowning.

“Hey, just because he was clever enough to come up with the next step in the formula doesn't mean it was his fault that the doctor went and got power hungry off it.” Tony snapped, “Furthermore, unless you have something useful to share with the class, I think we can all be dismissed.”

“The point of this is that it seems a more enhanced version of the formula, possibly Dr. Parker's, is being used by a new freak in this town; goes by the name of the Green Goblin.”

“I saw him on the news.” Steve noted. “Apparently he had a run in with Spider-man last night. They say he's armed with some sort of grenade bombs?” Even though it was his pops speaking, Peter found agent Coulson staring at him just long enough for Peter to feel uncomfortable.

“Director Fury, how is this – Green Goblin – relevant?” clearly unamused by the title, Natasha said it as if it were a vile taste in her mouth, and the director turned to look at her. Before he could answer though, Tony was speaking.

“If he really was crossed with another DNA, wouldn't he have enhancements? All we seem to know about him is he has a couple cool gadgets and likes dressing up in a halloween costume.”

For the first time since the meeting started, Coulson spoke, aiming his words directly at Peter.

“Why don't you tell us what you noticed, Peter.” Peter blinked, not really understanding why the question was being directed at him.

“The news didn't really show much,” he began, but Coulson shook his head.

“No, I mean when you fought him.” Peter almost felt like his body had gone numb, water rushing in his ears.

“When would Peter have had a chance to see the Green Goblin?” Clint asks, frowning, and Peter realizes that his aunt is now staring at him, calculating look on her face.

“Last night, obviously.” Coulson said, frowning as if it really were obvious, and Peter honestly wondered if he was going to pass out. This couldn't be happening.

“What are you talking about? Peter was here. Asleep.” Tony argued, and Coulson just continued to frown, looking at Peter. He then seemed to notice the panic written across the boy's face because he lifted a brow.

“They don't know?” he asked, and Peter could only give the smallest shakes of his head. This was his worst nightmare coming true.

“Don't know? Don't know what?” Tony was demanding, and Steve was moving to make sure their son was alright.

“Peter? Are you okay? What is he talking about?”

“Peter is Spider-man, which explains a lot really.” his aunt noted, and Peter actually felt like his chest was collapsing in his panic.

“It would certainly explain the accelerated cell regeneration and why he's never sick anymore.” Bruce noted. “It also explains the genetic abnormalities I couldn't place before. It's spider DNA.” Peter was shaking his head and Coulson was still frowning.

“Agent Coulson.” the director's voice was demanding answers in those two words, and Coulson shrugged.

“I thought everyone knew.”

“No, it isn't possible. Spider-man is a masked vigilante who gets in brutal fights. We would have noticed if Peter was gone. If he was so severely injured.” Tony was grasping at straws, but Steve was looking into his sons face. What he saw there resigned him to the inevitable as he looked at his husband.

“Tony.” the billionaire snapped out of his own ranting and looked at Steve who gave a single sharp nod. Gaping, Tony shook his head before fury took over. He marched over, coming to stand in front of Peter.

“ _YOU'RE SPIDER-MAN AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN THINK TO TELL US?_ ”

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

“ _YOU'RE SPIDER-MAN AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN THINK TO TELL US?_ ” His father had yelled, and it was safe to say that the conversation had only escalated from there. Now, Peter sat in his room, alone and aching, though this time the ache was inside his chest. There'd been so much hurt in his dad's expression, so much misunderstanding and loathing. Gwen had been sent home almost immediately after his secret identity had been revealed so he was alone as he buried himself in his bed much like he'd done as a child, wishing he could just die and get it over with. This was the worst day of his life. There was a knock on his door but he didn't answer, hiding further under the blankets. He heard the door open followed by the familiar sound of his pops clearing his throat.

“Peter, can we talk?” Peter didn't move, and moments later he felt the bed dip under his pops' weight. “Look, son, I understand why you didn't tell us.” were the first words he spoke, and though Peter didn't move, he made sure to listen. “I can't imagine what it would be like, to have these sort of changes happening without knowing why or what was going on. And I'm sure the idea of having your dad and Bruce study you to figure it out would be a bit frightening. After all, they can't always separate their work from their personal life. It would be – uncomfortable.” his pops decided, and Peter shook his head under the covers. Encouraged that he'd finally gotten a reaction, Steve kept talking. “But you know, we can't blame you for the time you've spent fighting crime. After all, it is what we do for a living. You have no idea how proud I am of you, knowing you've helped saved so many lives.” Peter shifted then, the blankets finally falling, and Steve was devastated when he saw his sons face, red with crying, looking completely heartbroken.

“Dad hates me.” his voice broke on the phrase and he rubbed angrily at the tears he couldn't stop from falling.

“Peter, no,” Steve objected, pulling his son into a hug. He couldn't believe that even for a moment Peter would think such a thing.

“You didn't see the look in his eyes.” Peter finally sobbed. “He was so  _disappointed_ . So  _angry_ . It was like he never wanted to see me again.” the boy shuddered at the thought and Steve just held him tighter. No matter what their son had done, there was no way that this was even remotely acceptable; that he thought Tony hated him was the last thing Steve would have him believing. 

“Hey, Peter, listen to me,” Steve soothed, hand combing through his hair like he'd done when Peter had been a child and woken up from nightmares. “Your dad doesn't hate you. He's just scared for you. He's afraid of losing you, and he was just faced with the thought that he might have lost you and we wouldn't have even known why or when or where you even were.” Peter stiffened at the thought but Steve just kept up the soothing motions until he relaxed again. “No matter what happens, or whether or not you decide to wear a mask, we will  _always_ love you. Always. That will never change.”

“But-” Peter tried to argue, and Steve shushed him. He wished he'd realized sooner that this would be Peter's fear; not that they knew about his nightlife, but that they dislike him for it. Despite his bravado and sharp tongue, Peter was as desperate to be understood and accepted as any other teenager; hell, any other human being, and Tony's reaction obviously had not helped the matter. Not for the first time, he cursed Tony's inability to articulate all of his thoughts with words.

“Come on.” Steve finally said, tone decisive. “We're going to talk to your dad.” Peter immediately pulled away, looking panicked, and Steve wondered for a moment if it were possible to separate your head from your body by shaking it too fast.

“No, I don't want to see him. I'm staying here.” he made to burrow back under his blankets but Steve managed to catch him before he could escape, lifting him out of the bed even as he flailed. “No! I'm not going!” It yanked at Steve's heart, how much Peter sounded like his younger self. Of course, when the boy managed to wiggle free and leapt up to hang off the ceiling, Steve had to admit he was glad he hadn't been able to do that as a child. He would have been insufferable. The thought brought a slight smile to his lips, but he huffed at his son.

“Fine. But I expect you to answer your door when he comes upstairs. Is that understood.” Peter just folded his arms over his chest, but he hadn't missed the doubt in his sons features. He was honestly afraid his dad wouldn't be coming. With one last glance at his son, unable to help but feel awe at his abilities, Steve left the room, on the hunt for his husband. He had a few choice words he needed to share, and Tony was going to hear them whether he wanted to or not.

It was no surprise to find Tony in his lab, though a surprise did come when Steve saw him looking on what almost appeared to be a red and blue spandex. When Tony heard him coming, he shoved the material away, and so Steve chose to ignore it, instead moving to loom over his partner, crossing his arms to show his dissatisfaction.

“You need to apologize.” he stated, and Tony turned a glare on him, shoving to his feet.

“Why do I need to apologize? He's the one that kept this from us! Christ he's been running around as a masked vigilante for over a year now and we've had no idea!” the anger quickly faded to something more akin to panic. “Have we failed as parents?” Tony was suddenly asking, and this was a fear Steve understood. “For not noticing? Did we fail him?”

“No, we haven't failed him, we've just learned that our son is remarkably good at keeping secrets.” Tony scowled but Steve didn't allow him to reply. “But that's besides the point. You need to apologize.”

“I do n-”

“He thinks you hate him.” Tony blanched, any argument he'd had dying in his throat.

“What?” he all but croaked, and Steve softened, reaching out for his partner.

“He's scared that you hate him. He took your fear as hatred. He thinks that you're angry, disappointed, and that you never want to see him again.” he paused and then sighed. “I think if he hadn't been so afraid of our reactions, he would have told us sooner.” Tony's only reply was like a pained gasp.

“He thinks I hate him?” Steve couldn't help but laugh, pressing a chaste kiss to his husband's mouth.

“Go see him. Apologize.” Steve ordered, shoving him towards the stairs, and without a moments hesitation Tony was off, disappearing into the stairwell. Looking around after Tony's departure, Steve caught sight of the material again and pulled it out. It wasn't hard to see what it was; a variation of the spider-man costume, but rather than spandex, this seemed to be made of a much sturdier material. Steve smiled, putting it back on the desk. He should've known Tony's first thought wouldn't have been to ban him from his nightlife but to help him stay alive while he was at it. He shook his head at the thought. He reacted so strongly to the smallest of things, but this need to protect people was something all three of them understood; you couldn't just stop because your own life was at risk, and in turn, they couldn't expect each other to stop either.

 

Tony knocked on his sons door, running his hands through his hair nervously.

“Peter, it's me. Open up.” Tony called when there was no immediate answer. The door swung open but Peter was nowhere in sight and Tony realized he must have returned to his blanket cocoon; he always had felt safest like that when he was upset, and Tony couldn't help but remember it. He moved to sit on the bed much as Steve had only minutes before and reached out a tentative hand, feeling a pang when Peter flinched at the contact.

“Peter, I love you.” the words were ones he would've once avoided at all costs, but he'd since learned their importance. He watched, grateful, as Peter slowly made himself visible from under the blankets, though there was still a clear look of skepticism on his face. “Your pops told me what you said earlier,” he flinched at the thought, “And I want you to know it isn't true." He reached out both hands to clasp his sons face in his hands. “I love you, kid, and I wouldn't trade you for anything in the world. I'm angry you'd lied to us and pretended not to know anything, and I'm angry you let us live clueless to the fact that we could wake up one morning and you'd be gone forever and we'd never know why, or how, or when.” he brushed away his sons tears as they fell. “I'm upset you didn't trust us enough to share this secret with us, but I understand, and I'm sorry you thought for even a second that it meant I didn't love you, because I do.” he took a breath, forcing back his own tears. “You and your pops? You're everything to me. I don't ever want to have to wake up and face a world without you both in it. Okay?” Peter was nodding, and without even waiting to see if his dad was finished speaking, he launched himself forward, giving his dad a crushing hug.

“I'm sorry I didn't tell you.” he mumbled into his shoulder, “I love you too, dad.” relieved, Tony returned the embrace before clearing his throat. No matter how much easier he found declarations of emotions, they could still make him uncomfortable.

“Now that that's out of the way,” he noted, “I have something to show you.” Without any other explanation, he waved Peter out of his room and down to the lab.

“I started making this when Spidey – when  _you_ first started roaming the streets. You know how I get, but anyways, it's sort of like a skin tight armour. Doesn't remove flexibility, and won't stop a direct gunshot, but it will definitely deflect them unless they're pretty much point blank.” Peter accepted the suit that was thrust into his hands, gaping at his parents who both stood in front of him.

“You aren't going to try and stop me?” he asked, disbelieving, and Steve shrugged.

“We can't really, not with a clear conscience anyways. How can we condemn you for following in our footsteps?” Tony chose that moment to cut in.

“That reminds me; I have a couple ideas for your webshooters,” he paused, “They  _are_ separate shooters, right? It doesn't come out of your palms or something?” Peter laughed for the first time since he'd been outed and shook his head.

“Don't worry, dad. I have webshooters. Designed them myself.” Tony beamed with pride and Peter gave a tentative smile, relaxing further when Steve gripped his shoulder with one hand.

“We understand your need to do this, which is why we won't stop you, but from now on? We face threats as a family. There's no need for secrets anymore.”

“Yeah,” Tony agreed, “Despite the fact that you're a crime fighting vigilante, you're also our son, and while we won't stop you, we want to take as few risks as possible.” Peter found himself nodding along in near shock.

“You want to work together? Like Spider-man with the Avengers?” Steve smirked at his sons wide-eyed enthusiasm and Tony rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, sort of.” he reached out so he could touch Peter's other shoulder. “We'll face these problems together; the rogue agents, the kidnapping, the goblin; we'll figure it out.”

“And you never have to work alone ever again if you don't want to.”

 

Peter was swinging over the city in his new suit. Though it had taken a couple run ins with villains to get used to the extra weight, it really was a huge improvement. He landed next to his favourite gargoyle, leaning against it's shoulder.

“Got any news for me, buddy?” he asked, and nodded along as if the statue had answered, smirking. “Thought so.” an explosion set off in the distant, and Peter immediately came to attention. He'd been circling the Green Goblin for what felt like weeks, and this was the first time he might actually be able to face him head on since his parents had stopped shadowing his every move. It had been more than a little annoying to always have somebody on his heels, making sure he didn't get into too much trouble, but when he proved himself by taking on a group of fully armed bank robbers without anyone getting hurt, they'd finally decided to step back. Grinning, Peter leapt into the air, one arm immediately coming up and webbing shooting forward, sticking to a building and pulling tight as it finally held Peter's full weight. He made his way through the streets, following the sounds of explosions, and finally caught sight of the goblin. He didn't hesitate to swing into the fray, shooting out a string of webbing to catch a bomb aimed at a group of huddling civilians and launching it back towards the goblin. He still hadn't been able to figure out what the Goblin really wanted, or what he was really up to, and his family still hadn't been able to pinpoint any sketchy looking happening in Oscorp, but now that they were all working together Peter was sure they'd come up with something. None of them had forgotten Peter's kidnapping or the threats that had been handed out, and none of them were about too. They would figure it out, and they would do it as a family. Peter couldn't help but laugh at the idea, dodging another one of the pumpkin bombs with a surprised 'whoa'. He needed to focus on the task at hand, but he couldn't help the grin that stayed plastered on his face. They were a family of superheroes, and no matter what, the good guys always won.

 

 

 


End file.
